Your kids are being used as campaign props, Canada

It’s positively eerie. Just in time for Hallowe’en, the Tories appear prepared to treat voters to a pre-surplus basket of goodies. Chief among these is an extension of the age range for children receiving the $100 monthly child care tax credit, from six years to twelve.

The NDP have met this offer with their own: a national daycare program, co-funded with the provinces, with a maximum cost to parents of $15 a space. The Liberals? Well, they don’t dislike daycare, but they’re still mulling it over.

The Tories’ strategy is smart politics but — like that GST cut — poor policy. Had they really wanted to give parents the choice between putting their pre-school kids in daycare or looking after them at home, they would have significantly increased the tax credit for families with kids under age six — or, better yet, for kids under age four — and not extended it to parents of children past the daycare age. Instead, the Conservatives are wooing the same cohort of voters they courted successfully with the benefit in 2006. Many of these households would not otherwise receive any payments because their kids have outgrown the program. Now, they’ll have public money in their pockets — just in time to vote.

There’s no question that working parents with school-age kids still face the challenge of making sure they are cared for after school, but those costs aren’t comparable to full-time daycare for a preschooler. And it’s a lot easier to work more hours — and pay those after-school costs yourself — when your child is in school for a solid six to seven hours a day.

The NDP’s plan is every bit as political. The party knows that it has to keep its seats in Quebec. What better way to do it than to sell that province’s own child care plan as a model for the rest of the country? Especially when doing so might save Quebec’s plan from itself? Quebec’s $7-a-day daycare program is rumoured to be, if not on the chopping block, at least on a very strict diet. As the provincial government wields its austerity axe, it is considering means-testing the program, increasing fees, or creating a sliding scale based on income. A federal white knight, riding in with a bucket of money, could help keep fees low.

If the 2015 election turns on families, the Liberals — despite all their high-flying rhetoric about the crisis of the middle class — could find themselves squeezed in the middle … unless they find some novel policy ground.

But Quebec’s plan is not a model to follow. Costs ballooned after the program was introduced, thanks in part to the unionization of daycare workers and demands for pay increases. Strikes by those workers are frequent; there are walkouts in progress in several major regions right now.

Worse yet, the program has had a negative impact on some children. According to an exhaustive 2011 study by three Université de Montreal researchers, Quebec’s daycare kids score lower on vocabulary tests and other measures of educational attainment than their non-daycare peers. One of the reasons, they believe, “is that children are simply spending too much time, especially when they are under age three, in daycare for the (Quebec child care) policy to have any positive effect.”

Where does this leave the federal Liberals? We don’t know yet. But we do know that the NDP and the Tories are playing smart wedge politics on child care, recreating the type of ideological polarization that served them both so well in the 2011 election. If the 2015 election turns on families, the Liberals — despite all their high-flying rhetoric about the crisis of the middle class — could find themselves squeezed in the middle … unless they find some novel policy ground.

And there is no shortage of prospects for such a policy — one which would be inclusive and cost-effective, and offer parents true choice in childcare. Such a policy would extend maximum parental leave to a full year, as Quebec does. It would increase payments to parents with kids under age four — something nobody else is suggesting right now — to make it possible for a family to choose between high-quality daycare or having one partner stay at home. It could be combined with other family-friendly tax policies. For instance, why not let families choose between income-splitting and a bigger child care tax deduction, so they can opt for the tax break that’s best for them and their kids?

Study after study shows that more parents would opt to stay home with their very young children, if they only could make it work financially. If politicians really value the well-being of children and families, they’d stop trying to trick voters with half-baked promises — and start treating them right.

Tasha Kheiriddin is a political writer and broadcaster who frequently comments in both English and French. In her student days, Tasha was active in youth politics in her hometown of Montreal, eventually serving as national policy director and then president of the Progressive Conservative Youth Federation of Canada. After practising law and a stint in the government of Mike Harris, Tasha became the Ontario director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation and co-wrote the 2005 bestseller, Rescuing Canada’s Right: Blueprint for a Conservative Revolution. Tasha moved back to Montreal in 2006 and served as vice-president of the Montreal Economic Institute, and later director for Quebec of the Fraser Institute, while also lecturing on conservative politics at McGill University. Tasha now lives in Whitby, Ontario with her daughter Zara, born in 2009.

The views, opinions and positions expressed by all iPolitics columnists and contributors are the author’s alone. They do not inherently or expressly reflect the views, opinions and/or positions of iPolitics.

17 comments on “Your kids are being used as campaign props, Canada”

Oui, vraiment Tasha. Just because well-off Conservative MPs don’t need daycare help doesn’t mean Canadians wouldn’t appreciate such a system.
My kids went through the Quebec day care system. Yes, it’s very expensive for the province. But it has helped them immensely, getting a good start before school in an amazing day care. It helped my wife and I immensely.
And since Reforma-Cons only understand ‘money’ and nothing else: my wife worked and contributed taxes to the economy.

Please be specific.
What actual needs would be met by what specific improvements?
I’m sure experienced daycare leaders would be interested in positive suggestions, as Mulcair’s proposal is not a one size fits all approach but would build on the foundations of different provincial approaches.

Maybe we could keep it really simple, avoid another army of bureaucrats to administer any new scheme; and just increase the tax deductibility for child care expenses.
I’m not sure I completely understand all the minutiae but I think child care expense deductibility is capped at $7k/child – but this is taken straight off of income, so it’s the full $7k that’s refunded to the parent (unlike a disability allowance which is non refundable so the recipient only gets 15% of the amount).
If daycare cost is around $10k (200 days at $50 plus) then with the existing $1,200 a year child credit for under 6’s, the parent is left with what seems a reasonable cost.
It looks to me like a parent would then pay $10K minus $7k minus $1.2k = $1.8k a year for day care for each child (under six).
If someone wants to subsidise daycare more then another $100 a month child credit would reduce the cost to $1,800 – $1,200 = $600 per child for the parent.
Or the deductibility limit could be increased from $7k.
Seems to me that either of those would be much simpler than a whole new daycare scheme.

In Quebec child care workers get a living wage – here in BC they get just above the minimum wage.
Often several years of training and neither wages nor minimum benefits for the workers – now wonder the turn-over is high in that profession: Quebec, the Nordic nations – all have quality daycare with decent wages and working conditions for the valuable work they do – but not in Tasha’s/Harper’s Canada.

Watching Tasha on Power and Politics yelling over everyone else so she cut denigrate Trudeau’s Chatelaine coverage was unbearable to see. She was shrill in the extreme. It makes one wonder why the RoboCon bunch are so afraid of Trudeau …. do they know something we don’t know yet?

I think you’re referring to the painfully shrill, screeching, and at the time terrified Susan Smith – petrified that the Drama Teen’s juvenile, vacuous Chatelaine image would grow legs and walk alongside him to the next election.
Yes we do know something you don’t; Trudeau needs a little more time in the drama rehearsals before he’s ready for the lead part.
Vote NDP, Vote Tory, Vote Green; but a Liberal vote should ne’er be seen.

Wha ? I don’t know who you are talking about. I happened on Power and Politics and got a little caught up in what they were talking about. When it was one of the panel’s turn Tasha went overboard and I didn’t get to hear what the panelist is saying and that is exactly why I do not watch Power and Politics because whenever there is a RoboCon sympathizer on they do not allow the others’ their opinion or idea. In other words they are bullies and wherever I go be it the grocery store, work, dentist, doctor, everywhere everyone is starting to mention how sick they are of this bunch. So sick they are starting to say it in the lineups whereas before no one said anything. I am so glad their time has come and hopefully when they are sent packing it will be another long journey for the rightwing, mean spirited RoboCons.

The entire segment about the Chatelaine story was absurd and a precious waste of time.
We’re treated to the Harpers and their endless dedication to cats, to their musical incompetence, their
supposed close family ties…yet a rather light hearted look at an undeniably vibrant beautiful
family who may well lead the country with some joie de vivre is slammed viciously.
What in God’s name is wrong with the press here?
Even At Issue went on and on about it so foolishly.
Hypocrites all, I say!
And I still maintain there is a stunning level of pure jealousy in all of this. TSK! TSK!

The Conservatives are bent on bankrupting the federal government and handcuffing future governments by creating across the board tax cuts, regardless whether you really need them. They really don’t care what makes for a stronger, healthier Canada as long as it makes sure that rich folks don’t feel overtaxed and poor folks can’t afford to complain.

Harper promised tax cuts when he got to a surplus; he got (will get) to a surplus and in doing that he’s bankrupting the federal government …? Astounding logic – how do you do it?
If you really don’t need the tax cuts then I’m sure you’ll be very happy to send them to::
Receiver General
Place du Portage Phase III, 11A2
11 Laurier Street
Gatineau, QC K1A 0S5
Canada

The ‘Drama Teen’ likes to use his kids for photo ops and he would be there as ell except that these boys and girls are too big too old for him to play with, and the boys certainly appear look too mature to want to whip things out to see how big they are.

Tasha brings up an interesting point. I believe the CPC plan is garbage, as their benefit now is 1/12 of daycare costs, the NDP plan might fall apart, but a specialized tax benefit/credit for parents kids under 4-5 (whenever school starts in your respective province) leaves beloved market open, while serving the purpose of providing relief to parents who would very much welcome it. It will be interesting to see what the LPC comes up with on this matter.